The PIAA recently agreed to

advance a proposal permitting all PIAA districts to begin football practice one week earlier than other fall sports.

This season, only the WPIAL can begin early. WPIAL schools can begin practice on Aug. 9; all other PIAA district can begin practice on Aug. 16.

The WPIAL was given the exemption to accommodate its four-week playoff system, the longest of any PIAA district. District 4 made a recent attempt to gain an early start, but that was rejected by the board, saying the request would have created havoc with football schedules.

The process to pass the change will begin in October.

Pittsburgh NorthCatholic girls basketball coach Molly Rottmann's suspension recently was upheld by the PIAA, meaning she must go to court if she is to coach this season.The WPIAL suspended Rottmann for one season for recruiting sophomore point guard April Austin. That suspension was upheld in a PIAA vote.The WPIAL voted to suspend Rottmann following a hearing that resulted from a newspaper article in February. The story quoted Austin as saying she chose North Catholic because Rottmann attended some of her eighth-grade games and talked to her about the school.Austin attended St. Bartholomew in Penn Hills before transferring to North Catholic as a ninth grader.A year ago, the PIAA adopted recruiting rules that barred a coach from seeking out a player and talking to her about attending a school.